1. Technical Field.
This invention relates generally to a fishing lure, and more particularly to an artificial plastic fishing lure having the appearance of a live bait wherein the hook means are substantially concealed within the plastic body portion of the lure as to prevent entanglement of the hook means in weeds, algae, or other matter found in water.
2. Background Art.
One problem an angler often encounters is the entanglement of his fishing hook in objects such as weeds or algae in the fishing water. Such entanglement not only greatly reduces the functions of the lure in attracting and hooking fish, it might also result in loss of the lure.
Several "weedless" fishing lures have been invented and patented. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,060,620, Binkowski discloses a skirt to be applied over the shank portion of a hook to shroud the barb point of the hook. Binkowski's patent is distinguishable over the present invention in its basic design, i.e. the hook is not enclosed in the plastic body of a lure in the form of a minnow, snake, frog, and the like for prevention from entanglement.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,230,656 granted to Kozjak and U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,618 granted to Rainey both teach weedless fishing lures with the hook concealed in the body of an artificial lure. However, the lure in Kozjak's patent is composed of three separate parts which have to be assembled together before use, while the lure disclosed in the present invention is an integral article. Rainey's invention, on the other hand, teaches a lure composed of two parts. Furthermore, it differs from the present invention in that it is much more complicated in design and contains cam means and spring means.
Other related art to the present invention is U.S. Pat. No. 4,367,607 granted to Hedman. Hedman's patent and the present invention both teach a plastic lure with top and bottom grooves on the body of the lure. However, only one hook can be applied to the one lure in Hedman's patent, while a plurality of hooks can be mounted onto the one lure in the present invention.
Also, the lure is detachably secured to other parts of the fishing device through a retainer means in Hedman's patent. In contrast, no retainer means is used in the present invention. Rather, a passageway is present in the lure of this invention. This passageway, with one opening located at the exterior wall of the lure and another opening located within the bottom groove of the lure, can accommodate a fishing line to connect the lure with other parts of the fishing device.
Furthermore, both grooves on the lure of the present invention function to substantially conceal the hooks. As a result, entanglement of the hooks in weeds or similar matter is unlikely. In Hedman's patent, only the top groove functions to enclose the hook and part of the arcuate portion and the shank portion of the hook remain exposed. Thus, the hook is still vulnerable to entanglement in undesirable objects in the fishing water.
Other patents relating generally to the present invention include U.S. Pat. No. 2,450.988 - Putnam et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,572,608 - Gabor, U.S. Pat. No. 2,690,026 - King, U.S. Pat. No. 3,060,620 - Binkowski, U.S. Pat. No. 4,138,792 - Hill, U.S. Pat. No. 4,316,343 - Creme, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,161 - Smith et al. All these patents disclose an artificial plastic fish bait which simulates a worm , a snake, or a frog and onto which a hook or a plurality of hooks can be mounted. Unlike the present invention, the "weedless" feature is lacking in all of these cited patents.